The Dodo Archive

Keiko Filmmaker joins debate about orca freedom

PORTLAND, Ore. -- Keiko, the Killer Whale who lived at the Newport Aquarium until his release into the wild, is being pulled into a national debate about freeing whales.The current controversy is over whether an orca named Lolita should be freed from the Miami Seaquarium.Some media reports, including the PBS News Hour, stated that Keiko, who was made famous by the "Free Willy" movie, died a year after his release in Iceland. But filmmaker Theresa Demarest said Keiko lived much longer."Keiko lived for five years. And the media has it wrong," Demarest said. "And one of the reasons we did this film was to correct that."The film is called "Keiko: the Untold Story". It features interviews with those who cared for the whale after his release and contains video of him swimming free in the ocean.Wednesday, the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration Fisheries ruled that Lolita is part of an endangered species of orcas that are protected off the coast of Washington.Supporters of a move to free Lolita hope this will help get her out of the aquarium, but a public affairs officer for NOAA said the ruling would not require the release.